The invention relates to an apparatus for cutting open th body cavity of a fowl, which is hanging by the ankle joints from a hook of an overhead conveyor and the vent of which has been cut out. More particular the invention relates to a revolving automatic apparatus of the type having a plurality of cutting means each attached to a slide block mounted for movement down towards a fowl carried by the conveyor on a guide means moving along in synchronisation with the conveyor.
The known apparatusses of this kind all have the disadvantage of a relatively complicated construction with a great number of moving parts, which of course makes these apparatusses expensive and unreliable in operation.
Because of the increasingly stringent official regulations relating to hygiene and especially to the prevention of cross contamination the body cavity of the fowl has to be cut open with the utmost care in order to prevent the fowl's entrails from being touched by the knife of the cutting means. Therefore the most important disadvantage of the known apparatusses is that, notwithstanding their complicated construction, they are not able to cut open the body cavity of the fowl in such manner that damage to the entrails is prevented with absolute certainty.